Sunday, December 22, 2013

I've got some exciting news...

And just in time for the holidays!

Yep. My little family of four is going to be growing into a family of 5, and Mommy and Daddy will be officially outnumbered.

To say that I was shocked is a bit of an understatement. I really didn't think it was going to happen at this point. This might be a little TMI, but whatever...I haven't been on any kind of birth control since before I had Ayden, and ever since we had Lily we were just kind of like "OK, two is great, but let's just see what happens." And nothing happened for the last, oh, almost 6 years. I figured maybe my eggs were drying up or something and maybe I wasn't as fertile as I once was, so I was totally at peace and content with two. Baby fever really hit me this last year or two but still, nothing was happening, so I settled on having just two for the rest of my life.

Then I was grocery shopping and realized I was about 2 weeks late- nothing unusual for me and my crazy cycle, but just to ease my mind I figured I'd buy a cheap-o test. I knew it would be a waste of money and I'd get my monthly visitor in a day or so and didn't really think anything of it. I came home, put a few groceries away, saw the test in my grocery bag and decided to go take it. I did my business and peed on the thing, and before I could even pull my pants up there was a big fat plus sign on it. I was so not expecting that! I had to talk to someone, so naturally I hopped on Facebook and start chatting with my 2 blog BFFs Amber & Sarah. (Do you love how the first people I told were 2 gals I've never actually met in real life?!) I talk to these gals on a very regular, daily basis and we pretty much have a 3-way chat going at all times between us. I told them I was freaking out and was going to go get another test because I thought this one was wrong.

Well, I bought a 2 pack, so 3 tests total confirmed that I was, indeed, knocked up.

I still was in a bit of denial, so I sent Amber & Sarah this picture of the tests to see what they thought. They both started laughing and told me I was for sure pregnant, and that there was no denying that those were plus signs I was seeing. I'm not blind, but I was caught off guard...just a tad! I mean, it had been a few years of "Well, if it happens, it happens" and I really didn't think it would happen!

At that point I realized I needed to tell my husband right away, so I called him at work. I guess my tone and the way I braced him for it really freaked him out, because he wasn't expecting my news at all. (He thought I lost my debit card or something and someone had cleared out our bank account!) When I told him I was pregnant he was surprised, but was also relieved to find out that it wasn't anything bad. I guess I need to work on my delivery. He was of course excited and immediately started thinking things like "OK, we need a bigger car. We need a bigger house. We don't have any baby stuff anymore so I guess we need to start finding a crib and everything." You know, the usual Dad-stress type stuff.

We told the kids that night over ice cream and their reactions were both completely different. Ayden was immediately excited and happy, and stood up and raised his arms in the air and started cheering. Lily sat there with a scowl on her face and asked us if we were serious and told us to stop tricking her. It took a good hour or two before she finally believed us and we convinced her that it wasn't some type of joke or cruel trick we were playing on her, and then she was all kinds of excited about becoming a big sister.

It's still taken a bit for it to really sink in for me. Maybe it's because I'm a little bit older this time around. I was 20 & 24 when I was pregnant with the last two...I was so young! This time around, I'll be turning 30 while I'm pregnant. I'm older, hopefully wiser, and I'm a seasoned pro at this whole mom thing now. Starting over with another baby seems a bit intimidating to me. I'm already incredibly tired, and I know I have many, many sleepless nights to come with a new baby on the way. I know it will all be worth it though, and I'm up for the challenge. It will mean a lot of change for the entire family, and we are all excited for it.

So for now, wish me luck getting through this whole morning sickness thing. It's already been a doozy and it's as awful as I remember it being with the previous two! For now I'm spending a lot of time on the couch snuggled up with my box of saltine crackers.

how exciting!!!! congrats!!!! I have an 8.5 years difference between my oldest two and now #3 and I LOVE the gap!!! time works it way out and I have totally enjoyed being a mom even more this time around

Congratulations!! Years between babies can be very nice-- now you have two older helpers and you're only doing ONE baby in diapers! As for morning sickness, good luck! I've heard some people say ginger suckers and ginger tea helped them a lot. For me, it was eating some crackers before you got out of bed, then making sure to eat something substantial every 2 hrs during the day. Everyone is different, but might be worth a try! Congrats again!

Congrats! I found your blog from the gel nails tutorial and have been keeping up ever since :). Your tutorial(s) is awesome and has enabled me to do my own nails and keep them nice looking for the first time ever in my 35 years ;). As far as morning sickness, try Sea Bands. You should be able to find them at a drug store/pharmacy area. They are little cloth elastic bands (think wrist sweatbands) with little round plastic pieces that when worn on the right spot on your wrist, put pressure on a certain pressure point that's supposed to alleviate nausea. I used them when I was pregnant with my son and they seemed to help. Didn't take it away completely for me, but I was able to go about life sort of normally.

Congratulations! I'm glad Lily's reaction turned around so quickly. I hope your morning sickness goes away soon. I've never had morning sickness but have experienced a lot of nausea in my life and peppermint and ginger sometimes help. I'm drinking some peppermint tea for nausea right now.